Autumn Storm (4 page)

His grandfather set the cards he held on the
table and reached into the pocket of his robe. He pulled out an
ancient, yellowing photograph with dog-eared corners and held it
out. Decker took it.

“You never really do,” his grandfather said.
“I look at that a few times a day to remember the good times.”

The picture was of Grandpa Louis, his wife
and twin girls. Decker’s mother was a teenager around sixteen with
her arms wrapped around her sister’s shoulders. They both wore
bathing suits and cheesy smiles, standing on the beach in front of
their parents. Grandma Aziza was enigmatic, radiating the dark
allure that characterized the Masters and Mistresses of Dark. Of
Egyptian descent, her daughters inherited her straight hair and
large eyes, while their dark skin came from their African- American
father.

I’m a mutt,
Decker thought, mind
going to his father, a full-blood Native American. Decker’s
amusement faded. The sight of his mother before she became the
Mistress of Dark was painful for him. She was happy, innocent,
free. When the picture was taken, she had no idea she’d kill her
sister in a couple of years.

“At some point, you will understand,”
Grandpa Louis said. The skin around his eyes was soft as he gazed
tenderly at the photograph. “You’ll tell yourself: Summer is dead.
You are not. You have a tomorrow to think about and people who love
you. You’ll start to live for them at first and eventually, you
heal and live for yourself.”

Decker’s throat tightened at the honest
words. He wished it was true for him. Would Grandpa Louis feel the
same if he knew the fate of Nora?

No, there was no such healing for a Master
of Dark. The Darkness was too strong, the secrets too painful. He
was a hazard to those he loved. If he couldn’t heal, his family
would, when he was gone.

It was best for all of them.

Keep feeding the Dark,
Bartholomew
advised.

The mental slap of a soul going bad hit him.
Decker had never been so relieved at the thought of running off to
kill someone. After Summer’s death, he’d decided no one got a
second chance, if she didn’t. He handed the photo back.

“I’ve gotta go,” he whispered.

“Take care, son,” his father said.

Not trusting himself to respond, Decker
nodded and rose. He left the kitchen and summoned his shadows,
returning to the dorm room to grab a knife before letting the Dark
take him to the newly Dark soul.

Hopefully, there was more than one. He
needed more Darkness, if it was going to consume him.

Autumn tossed and turned all night and rose
early for breakfast. Plopping down across from Jenna - the first
face she recognized - Autumn sat in a daze for a few minutes. Her
painkillers sometimes took awhile to wear off in the morning. A
woman emerged from the direction of the kitchen to set a huge plate
full of food before her.

The scents nudged her awake. She dug in,
hungry.

“We only have a half-day today!” Jenna told
her, excited.

Autumn looked up from her breakfast. She
preferred food to talking in general, more so when she was sleepy.
Jenna was waiting for a response.

“Okay,” she said.

“Have my coffee,” Jenna said, placing the
mug before her with a grin.

Autumn accepted it gratefully. There were a
dozen teens at the table, most of whom she didn’t know. Beck was at
one end, talking to Tanya. Amber was right about him and blonds.
Jenna was ten times prettier than Tanya, but it was Tanya who had
Beck’s attention. By the blush on her face, he was flirting with
her.

Jenna and Adam sat across from Autumn. She
tried not to notice the way they sneaked looks at each other. It
made her want to roll her eyes and tell them to get a room. She
drank her coffee and ate more pancakes instead.

As her body woke, Autumn found herself
interested in more than the food. Beck had a presence unlike anyone
else’s. She wondered why his magick was different. The orientation
book hadn’t discussed a lot about the actual magick, only that it
existed.

“New girls!”

Amber’s voice jarred her. She twisted from
her seat at the table to see the cheerful woman. Today, Amber wore
jeans, snow boots and a bright pink sweater. Something about her
made Autumn smile every time she saw her.

“We’re starting in five minutes. Same place
as last night,” she announced. “Beck, you’re joining us.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

Hearing the amusement in his voice, Autumn
glanced at him. He was an odd character, one she wasn’t sure she
wanted to figure out.

The cook emerged in time to bring Autumn a
refill on her coffee. She ate as fast as she could then rose when
Jenna did, mug in hand as she trailed the two girls and Beck down
the hallway to the classroom where Amber reviewed their orientation
books the night before.

It took her longer to navigate the hallway
with the coffee and cane. Amber waited for her to sit down before
closing the door. The other two girls were giggling at something
Beck said. Annoyed by it, Autumn ignored them and focused on
sipping her coffee.

“Everyone grab one,” Amber said, passing
around a small box.

Autumn peered into it curiously and took one
of the amulets. It looked like quartz crystal. She set it on her
desk and watched the other two girls take theirs. As Jenna touched
hers, it flared light purple. Tanya’s turned yellow-orange.

“Is mine broken?” Autumn asked, puzzled. She
lifted it and shook it. It didn’t change colors.

“Beck, help them out,” Amber ordered,
crossing to Autumn. She lifted the crystal amulet. It flared bright
blue for her. When she set it down, it faded again to clear quartz.
“Try again.”

Autumn picked it up. Nothing changed.

Amber reclaimed the box and thrust it at
Autumn. “Try another.”

The next one didn’t work for her either.

“I’ve never seen that happen,” Amber
admitted. “I’ll research it. In the meantime, watch the other two,
okay?”

Autumn nodded. Beck held Jenna’s in one hand
and what looked like a hair in his other. He wrapped the hair
around the amulet. The purple flared again. The light in the center
of the stone faded, until it resembled simple amethyst. He handed
it to Jenna.

“Your amulet is basically your soul,” Amber
said.

“Your what?” Jenna asked.

Autumn gasped. Beck glanced at her then back
curiously. She didn’t hear Amber’s explanation; she was focusing on
the fact that she might not have a soul. She toyed with the clear
amulet, willing it to come to life. It didn’t.

Beck crossed to her, frowning. “Weird.” He
pulled Amber’s chair up to Autumn, smacking his knee against hers
as he sat. “Ow, God! Feels like your knee is made of metal!” he
exclaimed, rubbing his.

“It is.” She flushed, as much from his
nearness as his words.

His face grew pink. He sighed. “Have a
freebie.” He held out his hand.

She eyed it.

“You’re in pain, right? I can sense it.” The
words were as casual and borderline arrogant as everything he said.
His calming aura kept her from being irritated at him.

Instead, Autumn placed her hand on his, not
certain what might happen. Soothing warmth trickled into her. She
tensed, and it stopped.

“Relax,” he said, glancing up at her from
the crystals. “It’ll go where the pain is.”

She hesitated then let the strange magick
proceed. It was not wholly unfamiliar, no more than Beck or
Amber.

“It feels weird,” she said. A moment later,
she understood. The magick slipped between her body and the pain,
rendering her truly pain free for the first time in weeks. “Oh, my
god.”

Beck grinned.

“Don’t encourage him,” Amber warned. “Honey,
if you’re in pain, you can go lie down.”

“I don’t need to lie down,” Autumn said.
“The pain never goes away. I deal with it. I’m not as weak as I
look.”

“Easy there,” Beck said. “Amber’s not the
ass I am. She means well. I’m the idiot.”

Amber was smiling. Autumn looked down,
embarrassed. She hadn’t meant the words to come out quite so
sharply. She was accustomed to people taking pity on her. She hated
that as much as she did feeling weak. With Beck’s magick quelling
her pain and his strange aura taking away her tension, she almost
felt content.

Beck picked up an amulet. It flared bright
white. Autumn shielded her eyes.

“They aren’t broken,” he said, perplexed.
His gaze went to her neck.

She ducked her head, assuming he was staring
at her scars, like everyone did. He reached forward and tugged her
necklace free of her shirt until the amber amulet fell into his
hand.

“You’ve already got one,” he said.

“Is it the same thing?” she asked.

“Yeah. But …” He met her gaze again and gave
her a searching look.

“But what? I don’t have a soul?” she asked
anxiously. “What’s wrong?”

“No worries.” He released the amulet. He
twisted. “Amber, she’s got one. She’s good.”

“Awesome. Now that everyone has their souls”
Amber laughed at the horrified looks on the faces of Jenna and
Tanya “we can discuss how to keep them.”

Autumn listened.

“It’s simple. Follow the Light Laws,” Amber
said. “You remember them?”

Autumn nodded, along with the others. Beck
shifted so she could see all three without him blocking her. He
left his hand beneath hers.

“They seem very … strict,” Jenna said.

“There isn’t much room for anyone to make
mistakes,” Autumn echoed.

“There’s not,” Amber said, considering.
“Beck?”

Autumn looked at Beck. He nodded.

“Normally, we tell people the Light Laws and
let them fret over them until they go through their trial,” Amber
said. “The key is not to break the Light Laws using your magick.
You can without magick, though any wrongs you commit will still be
recorded. You just won’t lose your soul.”

“So …who’s spying on us to make sure we do
things right?” Jenna asked.

“I am,” Beck said, grinning.

Autumn looked at him, unable to gauge if he
joked or not.

“Beck is the Master of Light,” Amber
seconded. “He’s charged with herding the flock that is made up of
Light Witchlings.”

“Beck?” Autumn echoed, astonished.

He gave her an amused look. Jenna giggled,
and Tanya looked like she was holding her breath. Amber
grinned.

“Not exactly a vote of confidence,” he
said.

“Sorry,” Autumn murmured, face hot. “That’s
just … interesting. I guess.”

“He’s a good sport. His brother, however …”
Amber grew serious for a brief moment then shook her head. “Let’s
go back to the orientation. I want to cover the elements and their
magicks again. Do you remember?”

“Earth is protection; Air the peacemaker;
Fire is action; water, purifying; spirit, intuition,” Tanya
recited.

Autumn listened. She’d read the orientation
but hadn’t paid as much attention as Tanya. She made a mental note
to review everything again. Amber continued, and Autumn’s interest
drifted. She hadn’t thought to bring her iPad, like Tanya and Jenna
did. In her half-drugged state, she was luck to remember her shoes
on her way out of her room.

She touched the crystal amulet on her desk,
troubled it didn’t light up for her as it did everyone else. Beck
snorted and touched it with a fingertip. It came to life for him.
She waited for it to die down then tried again. Nothing.

Something wasn’t right here. It had to do
with her. And the amulet. Pain pricked her temple as it did when
she was trying to remember something. She pushed the memory away,
not wanting a headache when her day was beginning.

They sat in the classroom all morning,
reviewing the orientation, before Amber dismissed them at lunch
time for the weekend.

After so many weeks with bad or no real
food, Autumn didn’t want to leave the table until they had to roll
her out. She ate until Jenna waved for her to accompany a small
group assembled in the doorway. Autumn grabbed one last roll then
walked with the two new girls through the Square to the road that
wrapped around the small campus. Adam told them about the school as
they went.

“We have bonfires most weeknights. On long
weekends like this, a lot of the kids go home or travel or
something,” he explained as they passed the dorms. “There’s a small
stream down this road and a picnic area.”

As they emerged onto the road, Autumn felt a
chill from the forest to their left. A small deer path led from the
gravel road into the forest. Beside the trail, one of the trees
bore a small wreath and plaque.

“Is that, like, a historic tree or
something?” Jenna asked, pointing to the tree.

“No, that’s, uh…” Adam’s gaze turned
sad.

“A memorial,” Autumn supplied.